Terry Ryan
now browsing by tag
It’s More Than Your Thyroid
It’s more than your thyroid!
I read over and over again on Facebook, thyroid patients that go to their endocrinologist and beg for a complete blood work, and not just the standard TSH test. TSH (thyroid stimulating hormone) to find out why they, the patient, is not responding to typical thyroid replace therapy. By not responding, I mean they are not feeling any better on thyroid replacement therapy (HRT).
Typical symptoms of Hashimoto’s thyroiditis:
- Fatigue
- Headaches
- Sore throat
- Hair loss
- Weight gain
- Dry skin
- Heat or cold intolerance
I tell people, it feels like I have strep throat all the time. To put it mildly…Hashimoto’s SUCKS!
So what do patients do who have a doctor who won’t run a more extensive list of labs for you? You can find another doctor, or pay for the tests yourself. Simple as that.I usually have my endocrinologist run complete labs once a year, (yes, I go in to his office armed with information). In between that I will have a TSH test done every 4 or 5 months just to see how I am doing.
Only approximately 10% of patients with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis will feel better on HRT alone. That is the disappointing truth. Why? Because it is, NUMBER ONE, an autoimmune disease! What is an autoimmune disease?
Autoimmune disease affects up to 50 million Americans, according to the American Autoimmune Related Diseases Association (AARDA). An autoimmune disease develops when your immune system, which defends your body against disease, decides your healthy cells are foreign. As a result, your immune system attacks healthy cells. Depending on the type, an autoimmune disease can affect one or many different types of body tissue.
There are over 80 autoimmune diseases that affect different areas of your body. For instance: Multiple Sclerosis (MS), causes damage to the myelin coating around the nerve fibers in the central nervous system (CNS) and to the nerve fibers themselves interferes with the transmission of nerve signals between the brain, spinal cord and the rest of the body.
IT MUST BE SOMETHING ELSE.
What is wrong with me?
Hashimoto’s thyroiditis is an autoimmune disease that has picked your innocent thyroid to attack. It attacks and attacks until the thyroid no longer produces the hormone needed for your body to run efficiently. Hence: you feel constantly tired and you crawl to your doctor for lab work. What is frustrating, is after years of complaining about being fatigued and your doctor prescribes a medicine like Synthroid, you still feel the fatigue but now you have other complaints such as weight gain, hair loss, foggy brain, etc. You doctor scratches his head and declares that your TSH is now in the “normal” range SO IT MUST BE SOMETHING ELSE. Then he leads you out of the examination room.
Patients have burst into tears at this point. They have come to their doctor in hopes of regaining their once vital life back, and instead they are told it basically is in their heads because, after all, blood tests don’t lie. (SCREAM HERE!)
Okay, take a deep breath, There is hope. I have faced this hurdle head on, and innocently I have believed my learned doctor. Well my doctor, or I should say doctors, are obviously not doing the same in depth research that I have had to take on in an attempt to find out WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH ME? What I found out…it is Hashimoto’s. Screw the blood tests and the supposedly normal TSH. I have an autoimmune disease with a fancy name…HASHIMOTO’S THRYOIDITIS. (Dr. Haruku Hashimoto, in 1912, published a paper on lymphomatus goiter and when published in American papers, renamed Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis.)
When I was first diagnosed 5 years ago, I had never heard of it. Yes, I knew what hypothyroidism was, but the autoimmune disease that was attacking my thyroid was new to me. What set the diagnose apart from just having hypothyroidism is the high antibodies showing up in my lab results.
“Get Rid Of Your High Medical Bills & Heal Yourself Naturally Today! It’s Easier Than You Think With This Proven Diet & 70 + Top Autoimmune Paleo Diet Recipes“
The presence of TPO antibodies in your blood suggests that the cause of thyroid disease is an autoimmune disorder, such as Hashimoto’s disease or Graves’ disease. In autoimmune disorders, your immune system makes antibodies that mistakenly attack normal tissue.
My endocrinologist preformed a ultrasound on my thyroid and he said it looked like a typical “beat-up” thyroid caused by Hashimoto’s. If I knew years ago what I know now, I could have stopped the progression of the demise of my thyroid. Now, it has gone past the point of no return and I am on a lifetime of hormone replacement therapy. Oh joy!
So what do you do if your doctor says your TSH is in the normal range and that is all they can do? Pull up your big girl (or boy) panties and it is all up to you! Trust me on this one. I have SEARCHED for the magic pill. There is none. Hashimoto’s patients usually place too much importance on their prescription. It’s all about diet.
Your hormone replacement therapy is extremely important because your body needs thyroid, but it is not how you are going to feel better. It also is not how you are going to lose weight. (I’ve even tried going on the very low side of TSH numbers and didn’t lose a pound. The lower the number, the more thyroid you have in your system,)
What is going to help you is:
- Eliminating gluten, sugar, fluoride, alcohol, junk food.
- Using shampoos and moisturizers that have natural ingredients and no gluten.
- Upping your intake of fresh and organic vegetables and fruit.
- Either having food sensitivity blood tests done or try eliminating foods for a while to see how you feel then gradually adding them back into your diet.
- Coffee is something that is not tolerated well by people with Hashimoto’s.
- Taking D3, selenium, vitamin C, Zinc.
That’s a good start.
Feeling better will not happen overnight.
Sorry to deliver that news but no, this will not happen overnight. It probably will take a good 3 months before you really could resume activities that you could do before being diagnosed with an autoimmune disease.
Below are some helpful links. Educating yourself about your disease is a great step toward recovery.
Thanks for reading!
Terry Ryan
http://thyroid.about.com/library/links/blthyroid.htm
http://www.medicinenet.com/hashimotos_thyroiditis/article.htm
http://www.thyroidawareness.com/hashimotos
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis
Hashimoto’s thyroiditits is a fancy name for an autoimmune disease that primarily attacks your thyroid. But while it is attacking your thyroid as if it was a foreign object in your body, it also causes a multitude of symptoms as in the following:
- Extreme fatigue
- Weight gain
- Hair Loss
- Dry skin
- Sensitivity to heat or cold
- Sore throat
- Headaches
- Aches and pains
Just to name a few.
When people ask me what having Hashimoto’s is like I tell them it is like having strep throat. It sucks!
What causes Hashimoto’s thyroiditis? No one knows for sure but fingers point at a toxic environment, genetics, viruses, or the cheap and chemical laden food we have been consuming for years.
My symptoms came on gradually. I became more tired year after year. I would describe it as being tired to the bone. My hair was falling out and it became harder to keep weight off. I went to my doctor for blood tests (all came out normal), and I exercised more, but I continued to become more ill.
As the years went on, a blood test finally presented a high TSH level. TSH means thyroid-stimulating hormone. Higher the level the more hypothyroid you are. You want to be between 0.1-3.5 (I was 45 when diagnosed) however that can differ from doctor to doctor.
A conventional doctor will not prescribe a hormone replacement drug like Synthroid until your TSH is high. Otherwise, they believe they will exacerbate the disease.
The dangers of too much hormone replacement therapy (HRT) is that it will cause heart damage. That’s the last thing a doctor wants to cause, therefore, they dispense HRT with trepidation and extreme caution.
Patients are desperate for relief from their symptoms and beg their doctors to do something. They are convinced if they either take a HRT or UP their current dosage, they will be well again. Sadly, this is not the case and many people do not feel any difference in their symptoms even with drug therapy. It is a mistake to count on your HRT as the miracle cure, because there is no miracle cure.
How to reduce your symptoms with Hashimoto’s thyroiditis?
- Take your thyroid prescription as prescribed and be tested every three months to make your levels are optimal.
- Eliminate gluten, sugar, dairy, soy, and fluoride from your diet.
- Take 5k of D3 per day. Make sure it is not a gel cap that has soy as a filler.
- Take selenium per day.
- Do mild exercise like yoga, tai chi, walking.
- Eat a lot of organic veggies and fruit per day.
- Get into juicing veggies and fruit to up your intake.
- Use coconut oil to moisturize your skin. Think of your skin as a giant sponge that soaks up anything you put on it so watch the scary chemicals.
- Get your hormones tested to see if you are imbalanced in female or male hormones.
- Write down everyday in a journal what you ate, exercised or did during the day and how you feel.
- Good grief….don’t smoke or drink alcohol.
- Get enough good quality sleep. Prepare for sleep at night. Have a routine where you wind-down for the night. Take a shower, read a little, or meditate just before bed. Keep your sheets fresh and your bedroom decluttered.
As you make these changes do not expect immediate results. It will take months of gradual improvements. You are master of your body and it is YOU who is in charge of getting yourself back to optimal health. It took me years to figure this out and I am back to feeling like my old self. You can feel good again, too.
Thank you for reading.
Terry Ryan, Hashimoto’s thyroiditis patient
Here is suggested reading.
Hashimoto’s Thyroiditis by Terry Ryan
Why Do I Still Have Hashimoto’s Symptoms When My Labs Are Normal by Dr. Datis Kharrazian
DCIS — Ductal Carcinoma In Situ and What to Do?
Well, they did it again. After years of scaring the daylight out of women—basically making women fear their own breast, the medical community changed another directive, this time about Ductal Carcinoma In Situ, DCIS. In the news for the last couple of days is this heading for example:
Doubt Is Raised Over Value of Surgery for Breast Lesion at Earliest Stage
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/08/21/health/breast-cancer-ductal-carcinoma-in-situ-study.html
What is DCIS? Ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) is the most common type of non-invasive breast cancer. Ductal means that the cancer starts inside the milk ducts, carcinoma refers to any cancer that begins in the skin or other tissues (including breast tissue) that cover or line the internal organs, and in situ means “in its original place.” DCIS is called “non-invasive” because it hasn’t spread beyond the milk duct into any normal surrounding breast tissue. DCIS isn’t life-threatening, but having DCIS can increase the risk of developing an invasive breast cancer later on.
DCIS is usual detected by a mammogram. First thing to do if your doctor tells you that you have DCIS is DON’T PANIC! I have heard of women becoming so terrified when they hear DCIS ( considered Stage 0) that they have a prophylactic mastectomy. Is this really the right course of action?
Dr. Susan Love, a surgeon, is best known as the author of the top-selling “Dr. Susan Love’s Breast Book,” said the angriest patient she ever treated was a woman who was diagnosed with breast cancer years after a double prophylactic mastectomy.
The second thing to do after a DCIS diagnose, and after consulting with your doctor about the right course of action (some will suggest wait and see, and some physicians will want to be more proactive and do a lumpectomy) is getting a breast thermogram, also known as Digital Infrared Imaging.
Early Stage Malignant tumor
This is the specific area of a small DCIS. You can see the vascular feed and the discreet area of hypothermia that is displacing the surrounding hyperthermia.
A breast thermogram is an excellent way to:
See if there is a vascular feed to the DCIS which is an indication that it is cancerous and aggressive treatment should be sought.
A excellent way to monitor a suspicious area for years in case it does change or progress into cancer, or if no change peace of mind to do nothing invasive.
Here is a podcast where I interview Rita Rimmer, a certified thermographer, on breast health.
Below is a JAMA article:
Breast Cancer Mortality After a Diagnosis of Ductal Carcinoma In Situ
http://oncology.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=2427491
Speak to your doctor about not only a mammogram but also having a yearly breast thermography in conjunction is a intelligent way to insure that that you are proactive about your own breast health.
To find a certified clinical thermographer in your area, just Google “Breast Thermography.”
More reading on this subject. Knowledge is power!
What is in Your Protein Shake
[contact-form][contact-field label=’Name’ type=’name’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Email’ type=’email’ required=’1’/][contact-field label=’Website’ type=’url’/][contact-field label=’Comment’ type=’textarea’ required=’1’/][/contact-form] I don’t know about you but when I started looking for a protein powder there were so many on the shelves of the health food store, I had no idea which one to chose. After a little research on the Internet, I learned the difference. Keep on reading and maybe this will help you chose the right protein powder for you.
What Are Protein Powders?
Protein powders provide a good source of protein for the athlete, a growing teenager whose eating habits are less than perfect, you want to amp up your workout and build muscle, or if you are a vegetarian and worry you are not getting enough protein. But please know that most everyone can get a good quality protein from eating lean meats, fish, and dairy products. Not everyone needs to drink a protein shake.
If fact, doctor’s and nutritionists warn against consuming too much protein which can create havoc in your body. Your body will leach calcium out of your bones so your system will become alkaline. Too much protein creates a highly acidic environment in your body. Acid=bad, alkaline=good.
The average person does not need to supplement with protein powders, and they can be very expensive. So, if that bodybuilder at the gym is slurping down a 16 ounce protein shake, that doesn’t necessarily mean that you have to, too.
Another good source of protein is plant protein considered more beneficial for the body over animal protein.
1. Vegetables – the proper foundation for all diets.
• 1 avocado – 10 grams
• 1 cup broccoli – 5 grams
• 1 cup spinach – 5 grams
• 2 cups cooked kale – 5 grams
• 1 cup boiled peas – 9 grams
• 1 cup cooked sweet potato – 5 grams
2. Legumes, also vegetables, get their own mention. Specifically lentils and beans, the foundation of many diets for centuries.
• 1 cup soybeans – 28 grams (1 cup tempeh – 30 grams)
• 1 cup lentils – 18 grams
• 1 cup refried beans – 15.5 grams
• 1 cup garbanzo beans (and hummus) – 14.5 grams
• 1 cup pinto, kidney, black beans – 13-15 grams
• 1 oz peanuts – 6.5 grams
3. Nuts and seeds – a staple in most vegetarian and vegan diets.
• 1 oz. cashews – 4.4 grams
• 1 oz. sesame seeds 6.5 grams, 3 tablespoons of tahini – 8 grams
• 1/4 cup (2 oz.) walnuts – 5 grams
• 1 oz. pistachios – 5.8 grams
• 2 tbsp almonds – 4 grams
• Nut butters – peanut butter, almond butter, cashew butter – 2 tablespoons has about 8 grams of protein
4. Non-dairy milk
Soy, almond, 1 cup gets you 7-9 grams of protein.
5. Grains – Ancient grains, sprouted grains, multi-grains – a major part of the diet.
• Quinoa is versatile and delicious. 1 cup – 9 grams.
• Amaranth, bulgur, brown rice, wheat germ, oat bran are other grains with a high protein content.
• Oatmeal – 1 cup = 6 grams.
• Sprouted grain bread products – buns, tortillas, bread. Pack a sandwich or a wrap and you’ll get 7-10 grams from the bread alone.
6. Supplements
Spirulina and chlorella are used often by vegetarians and vegans for their rich nutrient content, and protein content.
Hemp – 30 grams of hemp powder in your smoothie gives you 11 grams of protein.
Terry Ryan
Terry Ryan, Health Blogger
Turmeric-The Spice For a Longer and Healthier Life
Turmeric is a common spice, you may already have in your cupboard, that may be used for improved health. The spice has been said to:
- Prevent heart disease
- Stave off Alzheimer’s disease
- Eliminate depression
- Alleviate joint pain…and more
How does this work? Inside turmeric is a compound called curcumin which is responsible for the orange color we associate to the spice mostly popular in Indian food. That’s what you want to look for. Turmeric supplements may only have a fraction of curcumin included. You want to look for supplements that contain the most curcumin, which will result in a more costly supplement.
Curcumin: The Ultimate Guide to What It Is, Where to Find It, Core Benefits, and Why You Need It
Clayton Geoffreys
$10.99
Curcumin has been touted as giving the gift of longevity and provides a great defense against chronic disease. It has anti-inflammatory and anti-cancer properties.
Oxidation and inflammation cause disease and curcumin helps protect the body from oxidation and inflammation. What causes oxidation and inflammation?
- Pollution in air and water
- Plastics and other toxic material
- Pesticides, antibiotics and hormones in our food supply
- Processed foods, smoking, obesity
Click Here
Think of curcumin as the “scrubbers” that clean off the oxidation off your cells thereby preventing serious disease and possibly reversing diseases you may already have. It can stop cell deterioration and restores the cellular genetic codes of the cells to more youthful levels. Oh yea!!!!It will setup a roadblock for inflammation and relieves inflammatory problems such as arthritis and joint pain. In addition, curcumin has a unique ability to cross the blood barrier and that gives it the ability to deliver its antioxidants directly to the brain, which is helpful in preventing dementia and depression.
If that’s not all, studies show that circumin protects the liver and kidneys.
Did you know that inflammation is a factor in 80% of all diseases? That’s enough to convince you to run out and purchase some circumin.
But not all curcumin is created equal. Unless you want to eat curry rice 5 times a day, 
you will not consume enough of turmeric/curcumin to make any difference. Darn it!
Fortunately, there is a company that has found a way to make curcumin highly absorbable. Terry Naturally
The recommended dosage is three capsules daily and many people have reported that they have experienced results. Please let me know what you think.
Are you ready to look younger? Click below!
Thank you for reading,
Terry Ryan, Health Blogger
D5 Creation